Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Glimpses of Fire ❯ The Third Exam ( Chapter 21 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: shattered-words 
The third part of the exam begins...
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 05.06.2007 | Updated On: 05.12.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 129 | Status: Work In Progress
The third part of the exam begins...
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 05.06.2007 | Updated On: 05.12.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 129 | Status: Work In Progress
Glimpses of Fire
Author: shattered-words
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it'd be called 'Gaara'. So, isn't it a shame that I don't own it?
Summary: There were many things that shaped the plans of a certain Nukenin, and one was a shinobi that was as destructive as fire. AU/Mentions of Shounen-ai/Yaoi/Yuri [Linked to 'Caught in the Rain']
AN: This chapter was able to be posted thanks to Shadows-upon-Sand, who is my new beta! Hurray! o.o Of course, that means that Shadows gets to preview the chapters before anyone else, heh. Just one perk about being a beta I think. Anywho, on with this chapter! Enjoy, that's an order!
“Aw, but I’m sleepy, Eizan-nii-san,” he whined at the kunoichi as he rubbed his eyes. He made to crawl back into bed, but something grabbed hold of his foot and pulled him to the floor again.
“I don’t care,” the Suna-nin snapped. “If you don’t get up you’ll be late for the exam. Now get up!” After a moment she turned away from his sprawled figure that was starting to nod off and entered the restroom. When she came back he was almost asleep again and she promptly threw a cup of water over his head.
The next minute was filled with cursing and death threats, but at least the blonde wound up in the shower at the end of it. Eizan was busy making his bed since last night had been his turn to sleep in it. She had already showered and changed.
Since she hadn’t wanted to return to the inn to get her clothes she had been forced to stretch her remaining money and buy new ones. The blonde Genin had offered to lend her some of his own saved money, and insisted when she refused to take it.
She was wearing some of her new sets of clothes now that consisted of a black shirt and only had one right sleeve that was made of fishnet. Underneath the shirt she still wore her chain mail shirt and protective vest.
The pants were black and had tears along the legs and she had sewn the Suna patch over the Konoha one on the left, back pocket. Her holsters were in place on both thighs and her pouch at the center of her back. The black strands had grown a bit in one month and it was slightly longer in the back, and her Suna hitai-ate had been replaced on her right forearm, so her bangs shielded her crimson-rimmed orbs and most of her face.
Eizan took up her position at the window and stared out at the brand new day. She could hear Naruto getting ready but she put him out of her mind for the moment. There were dark shadows under her eyes from the many restless nights she had had over the past month, but even then she didn’t feel her exhaustion.
During the time she had spent with Naruto she had trained with him a few times and realized that he was rather skilled. He had explained that his almost infallible aim and improvement in other areas was thanks to Haku’s training. She had merely listened to him relate that the older boy was rather skilled and would be a tough opponent.
Eizan wasn’t worried since she knew that her match wasn’t all that important to Gaara. He didn’t care if she ever achieved the Chunin rank. He only wished to have her out of his sight. To disappear.
She winced and clutched the front of her shirt as she felt agony creep into her chest. After a moment she shook her head and tried to clear it of thoughts of the red head.
Eizan had had a lot of time to think and she had come to a decision. If Gaara didn’t find her useful anymore then she’d carry out his will. She would disappear.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It had been an eventful exam so far. The fight against Neji and Naruto had dragged on longer than anyone had expected. In fact, it had been predicted by many that the Hyuuga would win hands down against the blonde.
Again, the Uzumaki had shocked them all, but the Ashikaga had watched impassively. Eizan didn’t know he would win his match, but she had come to realize in the time spent with him that he was a strong fighter.
She’d also realized that she might have to face him or Uchiha Sasuke during the invasion. It wasn’t something she was looking forward to, and not because she feared them. She didn’t want to run the risk of hurting either one of them.
Sasuke was sure to improve during the next month and Naruto was fairly skilled thanks to the Hideaki kid. However, she knew that when the time came then she’d have no choice but to carry out Gaara’s order. It was going with Otogakure that had her worried.
The next match was about to begin and she glanced down at her two teammates as they faced each other. She could already tell that they had choreographed their match since she had trained with them too long not to know how they fought one another.
Iwane had shifted into a fighting stance and Amane had her eyes open. No one else would see these things as strange; even those that had already seen the two girls fight during the preliminaries. They’d just assume that they were taking the fight more seriously.
What they wouldn’t know was that Iwane’s unpredictability in her relaxed stance and Amane’s ability to fight without the need for her sight was what made them good fighters. They only abandoned these methods when faced with more than one opponent as it had been in the Forest of Death.
There was a serious expression on Iwane’s face and Amane seemed to be concentrating quite a bit instead of her serene state during a match. When they rushed at one another they attacked fluidly as would be assumed with teammates. They interchanged blows and either dodged, blocked or connected.
Eizan knew their fighting styles and that the Erizawa’s almost wild fighting style was complimented by Amane’s calm and precise attacks. When they spared it was an even match despite the two different styles because both girls understood each other well.
It would have actually been interesting to see them fight in an actual match, but that hadn’t been possible as soon as Eizan heard of the upcoming plan. She didn’t really understand why Gaara had agreed to it since she had always assumed that he wasn’t interested in what happened to Suna.
Eizan wondered if perhaps she had just misunderstood him all this time. ‘Does his life as a shinobi within Suna’s walls help fulfill his purpose?’
She had once been foolish enough to think that perhaps he would be able to trust her enough that having a purpose wouldn’t be as important as just being together. During those times she had still been her idealistic self, but now she realized that he didn’t trust her at all. He didn’t need her.
It was a painful thought but she couldn’t think of any other.
She felt her sorrow clouding her mind as she continued to watch Amane and Iwane’s match unfold beneath her.
The girls were only using D and C rank jutsu against one another, but it wouldn’t be assumed as anything suspicious. After all, many ninja at the Genin level didn’t know any high ranked techniques.
However, they knew B and even A rank jutsu already through Enoki’s most recent training. Those techniques were the ones that would come in handy during the invasion.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“The winner is Erizawa Iwane!” Genma announced, who was replacing Hayate since he was presumed dead. His sword and scraps of his bloody clothing had been found but there was no sign of his body. Many of his fellow Jonin were worried that he had been killed while tracking down the spy, Kabuto.
Sasuke had told Kakashi of what he had heard between Kabuto and Eizan, but had reported that he didn’t know which ninja he had been trying to “persuade” to join Orochimaru. The copy-nin had then told the Hokage and had labeled the teen ninja a spy for the Sannin.
Now all they needed to do was figure out who else the snake ninja was targeting and thus stop his plans. It was suspected that he might be trying to get one of their allies to aid him in attacking Konoha, but it wasn’t confirmed yet. For now, all they could do was let the exam continue and keep an eye out on any strange behavior.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Eizan vaulted over the railing easily and landed before straightening a moment later. She calmly walked toward her approaching opponent and the proctor that was standing in the middle of the designated battle area. Her eyes lingered over Haku for a moment before wandering a bit as she waited for Genma to start the match.
At first she had intended to forfeit the match but Kankurou had beat her to it and she didn’t want to arouse any suspicion by also refusing to fight. So, she had to put on a show for those watching.
She had seen the Kazekage arrive and had felt an overwhelming need to kill the man but she had controlled herself. Also, she had felt that terrifying chill that she’d felt on the playground and in the Forest of Death. Orochimaru was somewhere near, and she was scared. ‘What will become of me after this?’ she wondered silently.
“Begin,” the laid back ninja told them as he moved to a safe distance.
Haku peered at his opponent and wondered what kind of match it would be. There hadn’t been much to see of his fight against the Hyuuga girl since he’d won it rather quickly. What he had seen was the speed he possessed since he’d been in the classroom when his team had taken out the Oto-nin cell.
The former mist ninja realized that he was faster than him and even Sasuke. He could also say that he might even be faster than that bowl haired boy, Rock Lee. It was thrilling and a bit frightening when he thought that now he had to fight him. He knew that his best bet to win would be his mirrors.
Eizan flexed her hands and narrowed her eyes on the taller boy. She knew that beyond a certain point she’d have to withdraw, but she would put up a bit of a fight. She had to make it believable to the crowd, those watching and to her opponent that she was beaten. They had already seen her speed and so she couldn’t fake that the boy won in terms of speed unless he was faster.
“What are you waiting for, winter?” she asked the other, a smirk playing across her lips when she saw him tense a bit. She was debating whether she would attack or wait for him to do so and then defend. From his fight in the preliminaries she had seen that his aim was as accurate as Naruto had been boasting all month.
If she were going to fight him to become a Chunin then she knew that it would be a tough match to win, but she wasn’t. All she needed to do was hold him occupied long enough before quitting. After all, that’s what was expected of her. To lose and then disappear.
She clenched her hands into fists and closed her eyes for a moment before opening them. ‘Concentrate,’ she commanded herself. ‘I need to forget about it for now.’ But she wondered how she could forget the pain that was almost unbearable. The sorrow that plagued her to a point that she wished she could stop drawing breath just to make it cease.
‘Not yet. Not here.’ Eizan shifted into a fighting stance and breathed in, and fixed her red-lined gaze on her opponent. ‘Soon. Very soon.’
They lunged at one another almost at the same time and kunai and senbon met between them. Their eyes locked as they tried to overpower the other using physical and chakra induced strength. For a moment it seemed that they had come to a stand still as neither gained nor lost ground.
Haku lifted his free wrist and started to form one handed seals. Eizan’s eyes widened with shock since she’d never seen anyone do such a thing. The boy lifted his foot and brought it back down.
‘Sensatsu Suisho!’ The ground around them started to shake and the kunoichi felt a distinctive chill pass through her that made her very insides ache. She hissed in an almost animalistic way and jumped back as needles made of water shot out of the earth. They narrowly missed her but she saw that he wasn’t done yet.
He threw several senbon at her and she avoided those she could and deflected those she couldn’t. Then she lifted her kunai to meet him as he lunged at her right after the projectiles. If it had been a real match for her she might have enjoyed fighting against such a formidable opponent, but she could derive no pleasure from the challenge he presented.
“You’re pretty fast,” she muttered with a smirk. She leveled her hold on the kunai, jumped up and nailed him against the gut. “But I’m faster.”
As he fell, Haku threw several shuriken at her. She flipped back as they sailed under her and when she landed it was to return the favor. He jumped to the side to avoid the weapons and then came toward her.
She saw his hands forming seals as he rushed at her and she frowned as the air dropped several degrees. A shudder passed through her as she felt a very cold aura radiating from the boy coming at her.
‘Something’s wrong,’ her instincts told her, but before she could move he activated the jutsu.
‘Makyo Hyo Sho!’ Mirrors made of ice started to form around and over her in a dome-like structure. Eizan was almost overwhelmed by the drastic change in temperature as she shuddered once again.
“What the hell is this?” she muttered under her breath. Her gaze shifted toward the figure standing outside the mirrors as he started to move forward.
“Now it’s over,” Haku told her and stepped up and into the mirror in front of him. The Ashikaga girl could only watch in surprise as his image was multiplied in every surface of the ice mirrors.
Every image lifted their arms and threw senbon at the same time. She gasped as they came at her from every angle, and she knew they weren’t an illusion as several nicked her arms. A scream escaped her involuntarily as they started to tear into her.
After a minute she started to deflect and dodge most of them but every once in a while she’d be hit. “Kuso, I have to get out of here.” She had already made an attempt for one of the gaps around the mirrors but she’d been stopped.
She attempted a low level Katon jutsu but there was no affect to the ice. “Such a flimsy fire will not harm my chakra induced mirrors,” he told her.
Eizan knew, however, that nothing was unbreakable. If she used her Jigoku no Yaiba or the reversed version of the Ten no Hi Yaiba then she might be able to weaken it enough to melt or shatter them.
However, Eizan knew that she wouldn’t be able to do that. She had to conceal her abilities until the signal was given, and she doubted that it’d be given during her match.
She performed the same fire technique again and did it just a bit stronger, but it still didn’t have any affect on the ice. She used a normal bunshin to try and confuse the boy as she escaped, but Haku was pretty quick.
During her time with the blonde, she had persuaded him to teach her his Kage Bunshin, and in turn she had taught him Kaze no Yaiba. Although, she had made him promise never to let anyone in Suna know where he had learned it though, and he had given her the same conditions.
Eizan crumpled to the ground as a senbon cut off feeling in her left leg. She clenched her hands and gritted her teeth as the urge to prove that he wasn’t too strong passed over her. It was a blow to her pride to let him keep her trapped within the jutsu while she pretended that she couldn’t weaken or break the mirrors.
After several minutes had passed and her right arm had been numbed, she let herself fall to a sitting position on the ground. “I forfeit,” she said between clenched teeth. She hadn’t bothered to push her bangs out of her eyes or the boy would have seen the look of anger in them. It was humiliating to lose on purpose.
Haku had been about to attack again but he merely stared at his opponent as he accepted defeat. A frown twisted his features but he let the jutsu fade from around the Suna-nin as Genma declared him the winner of the match.
He then watched as the boy’s teammates appeared around him and took him to the gallery overhead where the rest of the participants waited. Even when he left the arena he hadn’t taken his gaze from the sand shinobi, and he saw the questioning looks his team members were giving him.
‘Why was he holding back?’ he wondered. His eyes narrowed on the other and he saw as he turned his head in his direction. Their gazes locked and the other grinned slightly as he straightened from his slouched position. He rested his right hand on the rail and crossed his left foot over the right one. It didn’t even seem like he’d been hit by his senbon at all!
The next match was announced and a silence fell over the crowd before a cacophony of muttering started up. Haku was distracted and glanced toward the arena. ‘Where’s Uchiha Sasuke?’ he wondered, and he knew that a lot of people were asking the same thing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There was darkness all around him when he opened his eyes and his head felt like it was splitting in two. It had been one of the few times in days he had been conscious long enough to wonder where he was and how much time had passed since he’d been here.
He shifted and only felt a dull ache from his bandaged wounds so he knew that it’d been a long while since he’d come to be in this place. The person that was keeping him captive had been here when he’d last awoken and had knocked him out once again. He was grateful that she’d at least fed him or he’d surely have already starved to death.
The potion that she used was in the food and it knocked him out for several hours. She was always here to feed him and then put him under once again. However, lately she’d been putting him down for two days on end, but he wondered why she wasn’t here now.
‘Perhaps they found out and she’s dead?’ he wondered. He actually wished that wasn’t it since she was so young. Also, she hadn’t been cruel toward him or tortured him. In fact, he believed that she’d saved him from being killed, but had to keep him here because he knew of Suna’s intended betrayal.
So, Gekkou Hayate could do nothing but wait until she returned. ‘If she returned,’ he corrected, since she might be one of the many that died during the invasion.-
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Translations:
1. Sensatsu Suisho: lit. “Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death”
2. Makyo Hyo Sho: lit. “Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
End Chapter Twenty
Author: shattered-words
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it'd be called 'Gaara'. So, isn't it a shame that I don't own it?
Summary: There were many things that shaped the plans of a certain Nukenin, and one was a shinobi that was as destructive as fire. AU/Mentions of Shounen-ai/Yaoi/Yuri [Linked to 'Caught in the Rain']
AN: This chapter was able to be posted thanks to Shadows-upon-Sand, who is my new beta! Hurray! o.o Of course, that means that Shadows gets to preview the chapters before anyone else, heh. Just one perk about being a beta I think. Anywho, on with this chapter! Enjoy, that's an order!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Chapter Twenty: The Third Exam~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Naruto groaned as he was practically kicked out of bed. He sat up from the floor and blinked lazily at the figure standing in front of him. “Get your lazy butt up,” an annoyed voice told him.“Aw, but I’m sleepy, Eizan-nii-san,” he whined at the kunoichi as he rubbed his eyes. He made to crawl back into bed, but something grabbed hold of his foot and pulled him to the floor again.
“I don’t care,” the Suna-nin snapped. “If you don’t get up you’ll be late for the exam. Now get up!” After a moment she turned away from his sprawled figure that was starting to nod off and entered the restroom. When she came back he was almost asleep again and she promptly threw a cup of water over his head.
The next minute was filled with cursing and death threats, but at least the blonde wound up in the shower at the end of it. Eizan was busy making his bed since last night had been his turn to sleep in it. She had already showered and changed.
Since she hadn’t wanted to return to the inn to get her clothes she had been forced to stretch her remaining money and buy new ones. The blonde Genin had offered to lend her some of his own saved money, and insisted when she refused to take it.
She was wearing some of her new sets of clothes now that consisted of a black shirt and only had one right sleeve that was made of fishnet. Underneath the shirt she still wore her chain mail shirt and protective vest.
The pants were black and had tears along the legs and she had sewn the Suna patch over the Konoha one on the left, back pocket. Her holsters were in place on both thighs and her pouch at the center of her back. The black strands had grown a bit in one month and it was slightly longer in the back, and her Suna hitai-ate had been replaced on her right forearm, so her bangs shielded her crimson-rimmed orbs and most of her face.
Eizan took up her position at the window and stared out at the brand new day. She could hear Naruto getting ready but she put him out of her mind for the moment. There were dark shadows under her eyes from the many restless nights she had had over the past month, but even then she didn’t feel her exhaustion.
During the time she had spent with Naruto she had trained with him a few times and realized that he was rather skilled. He had explained that his almost infallible aim and improvement in other areas was thanks to Haku’s training. She had merely listened to him relate that the older boy was rather skilled and would be a tough opponent.
Eizan wasn’t worried since she knew that her match wasn’t all that important to Gaara. He didn’t care if she ever achieved the Chunin rank. He only wished to have her out of his sight. To disappear.
She winced and clutched the front of her shirt as she felt agony creep into her chest. After a moment she shook her head and tried to clear it of thoughts of the red head.
Eizan had had a lot of time to think and she had come to a decision. If Gaara didn’t find her useful anymore then she’d carry out his will. She would disappear.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It had been an eventful exam so far. The fight against Neji and Naruto had dragged on longer than anyone had expected. In fact, it had been predicted by many that the Hyuuga would win hands down against the blonde.
Again, the Uzumaki had shocked them all, but the Ashikaga had watched impassively. Eizan didn’t know he would win his match, but she had come to realize in the time spent with him that he was a strong fighter.
She’d also realized that she might have to face him or Uchiha Sasuke during the invasion. It wasn’t something she was looking forward to, and not because she feared them. She didn’t want to run the risk of hurting either one of them.
Sasuke was sure to improve during the next month and Naruto was fairly skilled thanks to the Hideaki kid. However, she knew that when the time came then she’d have no choice but to carry out Gaara’s order. It was going with Otogakure that had her worried.
The next match was about to begin and she glanced down at her two teammates as they faced each other. She could already tell that they had choreographed their match since she had trained with them too long not to know how they fought one another.
Iwane had shifted into a fighting stance and Amane had her eyes open. No one else would see these things as strange; even those that had already seen the two girls fight during the preliminaries. They’d just assume that they were taking the fight more seriously.
What they wouldn’t know was that Iwane’s unpredictability in her relaxed stance and Amane’s ability to fight without the need for her sight was what made them good fighters. They only abandoned these methods when faced with more than one opponent as it had been in the Forest of Death.
There was a serious expression on Iwane’s face and Amane seemed to be concentrating quite a bit instead of her serene state during a match. When they rushed at one another they attacked fluidly as would be assumed with teammates. They interchanged blows and either dodged, blocked or connected.
Eizan knew their fighting styles and that the Erizawa’s almost wild fighting style was complimented by Amane’s calm and precise attacks. When they spared it was an even match despite the two different styles because both girls understood each other well.
It would have actually been interesting to see them fight in an actual match, but that hadn’t been possible as soon as Eizan heard of the upcoming plan. She didn’t really understand why Gaara had agreed to it since she had always assumed that he wasn’t interested in what happened to Suna.
Eizan wondered if perhaps she had just misunderstood him all this time. ‘Does his life as a shinobi within Suna’s walls help fulfill his purpose?’
She had once been foolish enough to think that perhaps he would be able to trust her enough that having a purpose wouldn’t be as important as just being together. During those times she had still been her idealistic self, but now she realized that he didn’t trust her at all. He didn’t need her.
It was a painful thought but she couldn’t think of any other.
She felt her sorrow clouding her mind as she continued to watch Amane and Iwane’s match unfold beneath her.
The girls were only using D and C rank jutsu against one another, but it wouldn’t be assumed as anything suspicious. After all, many ninja at the Genin level didn’t know any high ranked techniques.
However, they knew B and even A rank jutsu already through Enoki’s most recent training. Those techniques were the ones that would come in handy during the invasion.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“The winner is Erizawa Iwane!” Genma announced, who was replacing Hayate since he was presumed dead. His sword and scraps of his bloody clothing had been found but there was no sign of his body. Many of his fellow Jonin were worried that he had been killed while tracking down the spy, Kabuto.
Sasuke had told Kakashi of what he had heard between Kabuto and Eizan, but had reported that he didn’t know which ninja he had been trying to “persuade” to join Orochimaru. The copy-nin had then told the Hokage and had labeled the teen ninja a spy for the Sannin.
Now all they needed to do was figure out who else the snake ninja was targeting and thus stop his plans. It was suspected that he might be trying to get one of their allies to aid him in attacking Konoha, but it wasn’t confirmed yet. For now, all they could do was let the exam continue and keep an eye out on any strange behavior.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Eizan vaulted over the railing easily and landed before straightening a moment later. She calmly walked toward her approaching opponent and the proctor that was standing in the middle of the designated battle area. Her eyes lingered over Haku for a moment before wandering a bit as she waited for Genma to start the match.
At first she had intended to forfeit the match but Kankurou had beat her to it and she didn’t want to arouse any suspicion by also refusing to fight. So, she had to put on a show for those watching.
She had seen the Kazekage arrive and had felt an overwhelming need to kill the man but she had controlled herself. Also, she had felt that terrifying chill that she’d felt on the playground and in the Forest of Death. Orochimaru was somewhere near, and she was scared. ‘What will become of me after this?’ she wondered silently.
“Begin,” the laid back ninja told them as he moved to a safe distance.
Haku peered at his opponent and wondered what kind of match it would be. There hadn’t been much to see of his fight against the Hyuuga girl since he’d won it rather quickly. What he had seen was the speed he possessed since he’d been in the classroom when his team had taken out the Oto-nin cell.
The former mist ninja realized that he was faster than him and even Sasuke. He could also say that he might even be faster than that bowl haired boy, Rock Lee. It was thrilling and a bit frightening when he thought that now he had to fight him. He knew that his best bet to win would be his mirrors.
Eizan flexed her hands and narrowed her eyes on the taller boy. She knew that beyond a certain point she’d have to withdraw, but she would put up a bit of a fight. She had to make it believable to the crowd, those watching and to her opponent that she was beaten. They had already seen her speed and so she couldn’t fake that the boy won in terms of speed unless he was faster.
“What are you waiting for, winter?” she asked the other, a smirk playing across her lips when she saw him tense a bit. She was debating whether she would attack or wait for him to do so and then defend. From his fight in the preliminaries she had seen that his aim was as accurate as Naruto had been boasting all month.
If she were going to fight him to become a Chunin then she knew that it would be a tough match to win, but she wasn’t. All she needed to do was hold him occupied long enough before quitting. After all, that’s what was expected of her. To lose and then disappear.
She clenched her hands into fists and closed her eyes for a moment before opening them. ‘Concentrate,’ she commanded herself. ‘I need to forget about it for now.’ But she wondered how she could forget the pain that was almost unbearable. The sorrow that plagued her to a point that she wished she could stop drawing breath just to make it cease.
‘Not yet. Not here.’ Eizan shifted into a fighting stance and breathed in, and fixed her red-lined gaze on her opponent. ‘Soon. Very soon.’
They lunged at one another almost at the same time and kunai and senbon met between them. Their eyes locked as they tried to overpower the other using physical and chakra induced strength. For a moment it seemed that they had come to a stand still as neither gained nor lost ground.
Haku lifted his free wrist and started to form one handed seals. Eizan’s eyes widened with shock since she’d never seen anyone do such a thing. The boy lifted his foot and brought it back down.
‘Sensatsu Suisho!’ The ground around them started to shake and the kunoichi felt a distinctive chill pass through her that made her very insides ache. She hissed in an almost animalistic way and jumped back as needles made of water shot out of the earth. They narrowly missed her but she saw that he wasn’t done yet.
He threw several senbon at her and she avoided those she could and deflected those she couldn’t. Then she lifted her kunai to meet him as he lunged at her right after the projectiles. If it had been a real match for her she might have enjoyed fighting against such a formidable opponent, but she could derive no pleasure from the challenge he presented.
“You’re pretty fast,” she muttered with a smirk. She leveled her hold on the kunai, jumped up and nailed him against the gut. “But I’m faster.”
As he fell, Haku threw several shuriken at her. She flipped back as they sailed under her and when she landed it was to return the favor. He jumped to the side to avoid the weapons and then came toward her.
She saw his hands forming seals as he rushed at her and she frowned as the air dropped several degrees. A shudder passed through her as she felt a very cold aura radiating from the boy coming at her.
‘Something’s wrong,’ her instincts told her, but before she could move he activated the jutsu.
‘Makyo Hyo Sho!’ Mirrors made of ice started to form around and over her in a dome-like structure. Eizan was almost overwhelmed by the drastic change in temperature as she shuddered once again.
“What the hell is this?” she muttered under her breath. Her gaze shifted toward the figure standing outside the mirrors as he started to move forward.
“Now it’s over,” Haku told her and stepped up and into the mirror in front of him. The Ashikaga girl could only watch in surprise as his image was multiplied in every surface of the ice mirrors.
Every image lifted their arms and threw senbon at the same time. She gasped as they came at her from every angle, and she knew they weren’t an illusion as several nicked her arms. A scream escaped her involuntarily as they started to tear into her.
After a minute she started to deflect and dodge most of them but every once in a while she’d be hit. “Kuso, I have to get out of here.” She had already made an attempt for one of the gaps around the mirrors but she’d been stopped.
She attempted a low level Katon jutsu but there was no affect to the ice. “Such a flimsy fire will not harm my chakra induced mirrors,” he told her.
Eizan knew, however, that nothing was unbreakable. If she used her Jigoku no Yaiba or the reversed version of the Ten no Hi Yaiba then she might be able to weaken it enough to melt or shatter them.
However, Eizan knew that she wouldn’t be able to do that. She had to conceal her abilities until the signal was given, and she doubted that it’d be given during her match.
She performed the same fire technique again and did it just a bit stronger, but it still didn’t have any affect on the ice. She used a normal bunshin to try and confuse the boy as she escaped, but Haku was pretty quick.
During her time with the blonde, she had persuaded him to teach her his Kage Bunshin, and in turn she had taught him Kaze no Yaiba. Although, she had made him promise never to let anyone in Suna know where he had learned it though, and he had given her the same conditions.
Eizan crumpled to the ground as a senbon cut off feeling in her left leg. She clenched her hands and gritted her teeth as the urge to prove that he wasn’t too strong passed over her. It was a blow to her pride to let him keep her trapped within the jutsu while she pretended that she couldn’t weaken or break the mirrors.
After several minutes had passed and her right arm had been numbed, she let herself fall to a sitting position on the ground. “I forfeit,” she said between clenched teeth. She hadn’t bothered to push her bangs out of her eyes or the boy would have seen the look of anger in them. It was humiliating to lose on purpose.
Haku had been about to attack again but he merely stared at his opponent as he accepted defeat. A frown twisted his features but he let the jutsu fade from around the Suna-nin as Genma declared him the winner of the match.
He then watched as the boy’s teammates appeared around him and took him to the gallery overhead where the rest of the participants waited. Even when he left the arena he hadn’t taken his gaze from the sand shinobi, and he saw the questioning looks his team members were giving him.
‘Why was he holding back?’ he wondered. His eyes narrowed on the other and he saw as he turned his head in his direction. Their gazes locked and the other grinned slightly as he straightened from his slouched position. He rested his right hand on the rail and crossed his left foot over the right one. It didn’t even seem like he’d been hit by his senbon at all!
The next match was announced and a silence fell over the crowd before a cacophony of muttering started up. Haku was distracted and glanced toward the arena. ‘Where’s Uchiha Sasuke?’ he wondered, and he knew that a lot of people were asking the same thing.
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There was darkness all around him when he opened his eyes and his head felt like it was splitting in two. It had been one of the few times in days he had been conscious long enough to wonder where he was and how much time had passed since he’d been here.
He shifted and only felt a dull ache from his bandaged wounds so he knew that it’d been a long while since he’d come to be in this place. The person that was keeping him captive had been here when he’d last awoken and had knocked him out once again. He was grateful that she’d at least fed him or he’d surely have already starved to death.
The potion that she used was in the food and it knocked him out for several hours. She was always here to feed him and then put him under once again. However, lately she’d been putting him down for two days on end, but he wondered why she wasn’t here now.
‘Perhaps they found out and she’s dead?’ he wondered. He actually wished that wasn’t it since she was so young. Also, she hadn’t been cruel toward him or tortured him. In fact, he believed that she’d saved him from being killed, but had to keep him here because he knew of Suna’s intended betrayal.
So, Gekkou Hayate could do nothing but wait until she returned. ‘If she returned,’ he corrected, since she might be one of the many that died during the invasion.-
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Translations:
1. Sensatsu Suisho: lit. “Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death”
2. Makyo Hyo Sho: lit. “Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals”
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End Chapter Twenty